Seven stylish homes in the refurbished McBirneys/Virgin Megastore building on Aston Quay, D2, are for sale. Orna Mulcahy reports
Buyers looking for a home in the heart of the city will be impressed by a new development of apartments in the refurbished McBirneys/Virgin Megastore building overlooking the Liffey on Aston Quay, Dublin 2.
The Aston Building might sound like an unlikely address for prestige apartments but the seven units going on sale today are seriously stylish in their design and layout and come with luxuries as standard.
They are also far larger than a typical city centre apartment with one-beds ranging in size from 45 sq m (484 sq ft) to 107 sq m (1,152 sq ft).
The apartments, six of them one-beds, with a single two-bedroom unit for sale, are priced from €395,000 through Davin, an agency that specialises in the upper end of the residential market.
However, €395,000 buys the smallest one-bedroom unit in the scheme, with larger one-beds costing from €495,000 to €635,000 and the two-bedroom unit costing €545,000.
The apartments are on the second and third floors of the restored building - in fact a row of four Georgian buildings - which has Boots and Supervalu outlets on the ground floor, and a vast Crunch Fitness gym taking up the entire first floor and due to open in December. The basement will house a swimming pool and spa which will also be run by Crunch.
Garret Kelleher of Shelbourne Developments is behind the scheme which required a meticulous refurbishment of the buildings in which every original feature had to be retained by order of the planners.
Kelleher's aim was to create larger than average apartments that would appeal to more sophisticated buyers and he expects that many of them will be bought by owner occupiers. One drawback for these buyers, however, is the lack of parking.
Henry J Lyons Architects designed the scheme in such a way that no two apartments are the same in terms of layout, though each has a similar finish with expensively-fitted kitchens and bathrooms, oak floors, terrific storage space and an abundance of natural light.
Buyers have the choice of apartments at the front that have wonderful views of the Liffey and its bridges, or of apartments to the rear of the building that are surprisingly quiet given the location, and also have a sunny aspect.
Probably the nicest of these is the show apartment, number 2, with its large livingroom opening onto an open air deck with plenty of space for a table and chairs. It's a 65 sq m (700 sq ft) unit on the second floor with a quirky split level layout that makes it appear larger. The bedroom with its large sash window is particularly pleasant, while the kitchen with its integrated Neff appliances is a very generous size, and there's full bathroom. The asking price is €525,000.
By contrast, apartment three is a similar-sized unit with three windows overlooking the Liffey towards the Ha'Penny Bridge. It has a working fireplace fitted with a gas fire and its dual aspect makes it exceptionally bright. Its price tag is €495,000.
The most unusual apartment in the scheme is number 9, a duplex with access from both the second and third floors, and an elegant original staircase linking both floors.
A generous 76 sq m (818 sq ft), it has a livingroom with corner fireplace on the upper floor, along with a big eat-in kitchen, a bathroom, hot press and storage. Downstairs is a large bedroom, and access from a rear hallway to its own deck patio.
An entirely original scheme - in part due to the planners' vigilance - The Aston Building is a fine refurbishment by Shelbourne. The company has carried out several notable developments in Dublin, including new offices for the OPW in the former Irish Press building at Burgh Quay and the new Jury's Inn on Parnell Street.
The company is currently building a large scale residential and commercial scheme in Tallaght, as well as projects in Paris. It recently bought the former Department of Foreign Affairs HQ on St Stephen's Green for over €50 million.
